Art Journal Tutorials - Loopy Ladders and Doodle Flowers

Do you often sit down to work in your journal but you have no idea where to start? If this sounds like you then you don't want to miss the tutorial that I have here on the blog today!

I received some of the Mixed Media Inspiration Deck from Kiala Givehand through the Stencilgirl Creative Team this year and I have to say that I had a lot of fun playing with them!

jump start

I don't know about you but often I sit down to create something but maybe I don't know where to start. Sometimes there are just too many things to choose from and it can be all a little overwhelming. These cards are the perfect way to solve this. Just pick out one and you're off and running.

Loopy ladders

I worked with the Loopy Ladders stencil today to add some extra dimension and interest to my background in my altered book. 

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GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive both a $25 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products
AND a Mixed Media Inspiration Deck™ Empowerment Edition !

Visit these amazing artists’ blogs and comment for your chance to win!

The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!
(One comment per blog please.)

You have until Sunday, January 14th at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.

Winner will be announced on
StencilGirl's Facebook page on Monday, January 15th.

Blog Hop Order

January 10
Mary Beth Shaw

Kiala Givehand

Tina Walker

Belen Sotelo

January 11
Mary C. Nasser

Sherry Canino

Louise Nelson

Torrie Gass

January 12

Debi Adams

Cindy Gilstrap

Sandee Setliff
Karen Gaunt

You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.

Easy Mixed Media Layers with my new online class

I am very excited to introduce to you my latest online mixed media class, hot off the press! This is a class that has come about from an evolution of my work over the past six months and is very near and dear to my heart

E=M C Layered is a mixed media class teaching you the step by step method I have developed for creating beautiful spreads in your Art journal that are full of depth, interest and drama but are without the bulk. No more strain on your poor journal spine and no more pages falling out anymore!

I've been art journalling for over four years now and my style has developed and changed so many times. I found myself wanting to create more and more interest and layers in my journals but the strain adding this extra bulk to my journals meant that they were in a terrible state!

I found myself looking for new ways to add interest without adding this extra bulk and in doing so I found that I was creating many spreads following the same step by step method. Different pages, the same formula. This is where E=M C Layered was born.

I'll walk you through all of the steps and techniques you need to follow to achieve beautiful and interesting mixed media spreads time and time again by following my formula. The techniques I am teaching can be used my themselves or all together to achieve a really beautiful and unique piece of art.

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Easy Embroidery Hoop Gift Tutorial

Welcome to my series of tutorials this month covering gift ideas that you can easily make and give away to your arty friends or even end up keeping for yourself.

Today I am sharing these simple and easy embroidery hoops that will make a perfect present for that special someone over the holidays. These would actually be perfect no matter what time of year!

paint with brushos 

I am using my Brusho powders from Colourcraft for this project. Using these powders to paint or color on fabric is one of my favorite techniques. These powders are super heavily pigmented and they just explode across your page or fabric when activated with water.You can substitute watercolor paints if you don't have Brusho's in your stash.

Embroidery is Fun!

I promise even the most beginner noob can manage at least the stamped embroidered hoop! If you are feeling adventurous or need some more instruction here is the link to the tutorial on Sublime Stitching covering French Knots. They really aren't as hard as you think so please give them a go!

Personalise, Personalise, Personalise!

The wonderful part about these little hoops is that you can completely personalise it for the person that you are making it for. Spend your time selecting the perfect dictionary definition to add in to make it extra special.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Please don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel if you haven't already. That way you can be sure to not miss any tutorials that are coming up this month and many more to come!

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You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.

Make Your Own Custom Notebook Cover

Welcome to my series of tutorials this month covering gift ideas that you can easily make and give away to your arty friends or even end up keeping for yourself.

I picked up this little set of three notebooks for super cheap in Flying Tiger but I am sure you can find something similar very easily. Their sturdy kraft covers mean they are perfect for altering.

Full moon half moon

I could seriously make these inky moons all day everyday. It never gets old watching the ink move across the page on the water never fails to amaze me.

All tied up with string

These little notebooks are perfect to give away as a set wrapped up in a pretty little bundle. You could totally change the color of your moons to perhaps a pink or blue moon depending on your recipients color favorite.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Please don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel if you haven't already. That way you can be sure to not miss any tutorials that are coming up this month and many more to come!

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You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.

Make Your Own Envelope Journal Part Two

Welcome to my series of tutorials this month covering gift ideas that you can easily make and give away to your arty friends or even end up keeping for yourself.

This is part two of making your own envelope journal, if you haven't already checked out part one make sure you do as this tutorial builds on the previous one.

Decorating Your Journal 

Now we have less exciting part of making our journal done we can get to the fun part of decorating it! I've used stencils and paint for the front part of my journal as well as some book text and printed gelli papers I had in my stash.

Personalise, Personalise, Personalise!

The wonderful part about this little journal is that you can completely personalise it for the person that you are making it for. Spend your time selecting little bits and pieces to add in to make it extra special.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Please don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel if you haven't already. That way you can be sure to not miss any tutorials that are coming up this month and many more to come!

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You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.

Make Your Own Envelope Journal Part One

Welcome to my series of tutorials this month covering gift ideas that you can easily make and give away to your arty friends or even end up keeping for yourself.

This is part one of making your own envelope journal, part two will be folllowing on next week and I have several others planned for the month.

Constructing Your Journal 

The first part is going to be covering the construction of this journal using some really simple envelopes and binding using a pamphlet stitch. I'm showing you how to bind the journal in my video but a really wonderful tutorial can be found here on Design Sponge. I always refer to it when I am making as well.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Please don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel if you haven't already. That way you can be sure to not miss any tutorials that are coming up this month and many more to come!

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You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.

Why I've joined Patreon

So today I am going to be getting a little bit personal here on the blog and also some very exciting news! There are big changes coming soon here and there are going to be lots and lots of new things coming down the pipeline.

Testing Times

Something that I have not shared much online and outside of my immediate circle is that I have been made redundant from my full time job and this happened back in May of this year. I’m not going to lie and say that this was pleasant, it most certainly was not, and it was a very stressful time. If I am being honest the three years before this happened had not been good ones as this plan had been coming for quite some time although we did not know exactly when it would happen. In the end it was not a surprise but it came very quickly and a little messy in the end.

So after May I found myself unemployed and at somewhat of a crossroads. I was lucky enough to have a sum of redundancy from my employer that left me with a comfortable cushion. And at this crossroads I found myself taking the path of striking out on my own and attempting to make a full time job for myself from my artwork.

Freedom, freedom

Now don’t get me wrong, this path is most certainly not going to me a smooth and steady one. There are very few steps clear ahead of me and I am certainly going to work my butt off to make something of this as I am determined to not have to go back to a regular full time job if I can possibly avoid it. Being able to collect my daughter from school, not worry about school holidays and being much happier in myself than I have been in many, many years has set my mind on this matter for certain.

So what's it all about then?

So to get to the original point of writing this post in the first place, I am now on Patreon!! Don’t worry I am well aware that a lot of you may not be familiar with Patreon or the concept of it so I have written out a few answers to the types of questions that I had when I first learnt about!

What is Patreon?

Patreon is a membership style site where you can support Artists and creators (and me!) and allows you to be rewarded with exclusive content in return from your monetary support.

How much does it cost?

I have multiple levels of monthly payment options and each of them gives you a different type of content depending on your monthly pledge.

Pledge $2 Per Month - Buy me coffee!

Get a patron-only perspective on my work and support me by buying coffee!

• Behind-the-scenes photos and articles

• Patron only articles

• Plus all previous rewards

Pledge $5 Per Month - Behind the scenes

You'll get exclusive behind the scenes looks at what I am working on.

• Fortnightly views into my sketchbooks and journals

• Plus all previous rewards

Pledge $10 Per Month - Let’s Talk Themes

Each month Patreon will be receiving an exclusive monthly theme to base our work and my tutorials around!

• First introduction video each month

• Starting points, hints and tips for the themes

• Resources and supplies lists

• Plus all previous rewards

Pledge $15 Per Month - Here’s the Kitchen Sink

Each month top level Patreons will be working along side me for a theme each month.

• Two exclusive tutorial videos each month

• Supply video each month to go with our theme

• Exclusive digital content including artwork and lettering to go with our theme

• Plus all previous rewards

So what is your plan for Patreon Karen?

Well I am so glad that you asked!! Each month I’ll be creating exclusive content for my Patreon supporters. Just think of as your own personal membership subscription to me! I’ll be creating around a theme each month and giving tutorials that build on each other. Hints and tips will be given in abundance and I am very excited to get going with this project.

I am also very excited to get digital content out there are ready for my Patreon peeps. This is something that I have been working on for a while and I cannot wait to get these things released as well!

How can I support you?

Well it’s very straightforward and easy for you to get started. You can visit my Patreon page directly here and sign up straight away. You’ll be charged your pledge amount straight away and you will have access to current as well as past month’s content. You’ll be charged your pledge amount each month on the 1st by Patreon as a repeat payment. You can cancel at anytime and you are not obliged to sign up for any length of time.

Can I get a say in what you make for Patreon?

Oh my gosh yes!! That is exactly what I want to do for my Patreon tribe. I want you to ask me to show you all the things. If there is something that you want to know or see or find out about then all you have to do is holler at me. I am making this content for you and you’re parting with your cash to view it. I want it to serve you and help you so I am only too happy to show you whatever your little arty heart desires!

Join me why don't you?

So there we have it! I would love to have you join me over on Patreon and consider supporting me. It would mean so much to me to have you along with me and please do not feel that a high amount is all that I am after. Every small amount helps and if you enjoy my content and my art I hope that you will consider lending me your support.

I will be posting teasers later on this week to tempt you into joining me. I have November’s content all ready to go and I am excited to start work now on December’s. Yes I am determined to be super organised with it!!

Make Your Own Custom Travellers Notebook Cover - A Stencilgirl Holiday Blog Hop

I am sharing this simple tutorial today to create your own custom Travellers Notebook cover for Stencilgirl's Holiday Blog Hop. I wanted to create a beautiful cover for my junk journal I have created to work in for December Daily this year.

Planning out December Daily

I am putting out there to the universe right now that I, Karen Gaunt, do solemly swear to participate in December Daily and to bring you all along for the ride. I don't know about you but every year I WANT to do it but it always falls by the wayside by like December 3rd. 

help me be accountable!

I've created an album all ready to go in a Travellers Notebook size and I am very much hoping that by publicly committing to this project you can all hold me accountable for making sure that it happens!

New Stencils

I used the Deer with Antlers stencil from Judith Pfaff Daley which is new this year from Stencigirl. I feel in love with it the moment I saw it and I know I will be using it for many more things this Christmas!

enjoy the tutorial

You'll find the tutorial video below for you to enjoy. Of course, I have company in this video from my studio assistant, Archie. 

Please be sure to subscribe if you haven't already, I have many more December Daily posts planned for my channel as well as more gift tutorials this month!

Keep scrolling to see how you can be in with a chance of winning a $25 Stencilgirl Certificate.

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We have a more than a dozen projects our Creative Team members made just to whet your appetite for the merriest season

While you are busy oohing and aahing, take a moment to leave a comment on each blog and you'll be entered to win a $25 StencilGirl Gift Certificate!

Comment by midnight CST in the USA on November 8th and we’ll randomly choose a $25 StencilGirl Gift Certificate winner. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win. We’ll announce the winner on our Facebook Page on November 9th.

Here are links to all the fantastic, magic, merry, holiday projects:

Tina Walker   

Torrie Gass   

Cindy Gilstrap   

Sherry Canino   

Sandee Setliff   

Kiala Givehand   

Janet Joehlin   

Belen Sotelo   

Louise Nelson    

Debi Adams   

Carol Baxter   

You can sign up right now for my free online class, Play with Black!

Black is often a color which is overlooked when working with our mixed media projects. With so many other amazing colors available, it's easy to do.

Join me as we delve into the dark side of mixed media! Working with only a few supplies, let’s explore a variety of ways black and its values  can be used to create a gorgeous, layered art journal page.